TrueBlue4ever

Don’t blame him. I’ve been wanting to tell some select critics to f*ck off myself.

I am of the belief that the team chose to rest up down the stretch as much as anything. Their first round play would indicate that they are not “fundamentally broken” like the nay-sayers would proclaim. Pushing hard to 114 points last year left us worn out by round 3 last year. It didn’t do Tampa or Calgary any good to pile on the points in the regular season. I see no indication based on their play in this series that Maurice has “lost the room” or that we are being outclassed by our opponent. The series had been remarkably tight, as it should be for two teams that each had 99 points. And it isn’t over yet. People need to stop firing the coach after each individual loss in a 7 game series.

Big difference between Stanley Cup contender and “the guarantee” 4 years out. But that’s all anyone seems to see. We have SC caliber talent, but so do Tampa, Boston, Washington, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and now arguably NYI and Columbus (given their results in the first round) in the East, and Calgary, Nashville, Vegas in the West. San Jose, minus the goaltending woes no one saw at season’s start, have as much talent as anyone. And given their second half play, one could make an argument that St. Louis and Colorado have that caliber of talent too. And Dallas has the defence and goaltending that could carry them a long way. Point is, only one team can win - you don’t fire a coach just because you don’t make the conf. finals. 27 teams aren’t firing their coaches this year. We have not been outplayed in this series, we certainly have not had a lot of luck on our side. Even with talent, so much needs to happen to win a Cup. A lot more than a magazine article proclaiming it to be so a half decade ago.

Have to revise my hate meter (told you it was a constantly shifting scale). Removing my Tortarella hate for now. Dude has been very entertaining in these playoffs, even smiled after he got beer dumped on him during a game. Now, we’ll see if Oscar the grouch returns if they start losing, but I also saw that he took in an abused and neglected horse and nursed it back to health on his farm, and also has 3 rescue dogs he took in. Can’t hate on him anymore. That leaves me an extra hate point, which I will add to the Winnipeg Jets fans, specifically he “Fire Maurice” brigade who disappear after a win but come roaring back after a loss, no matter the circumstances. This kind of blind idiocy is why I avoid message boards for 24 hours after a loss.

This was the worst thing that happened to our fan base. Gave us completely unrealistic expectations. This team is not Cup or Bust yet. Firing Maurice right away because we lost to a hot goalie and a team that was tied with us in the standings will not propel us forward.

Season should be 80 games. 8 Divisions of 4 teams into 2 Conferences. 2 games against teams in opposite conf, 3 against same conf non-divisional opponents, and 4 against divisional opponents. One division champ and 4 wild cards. Season runs from October 1-March 31. Playoff games every other day alternating conferences until the finals, season done by May 31 at her latest. But yhat won’t happen either.

I am reminded of the movie “The Fugitive” where Tommy Lee Jones interviews the cop after the train crash: ”Care to revise your statement, sir?” ”What?” ”Do you want to change your bulls#it story, sir?”

Don’t judge a line by one shift, clearly.

Good thing Maurice did not split them up.

One man’s take: A very different position to judge in the 30’s-50’s era than today as run blocking and your two-way role on defence were so key as opposed to route running and catching on today’s role, and I won’t repeat the bios I posted. But Pitts was the best receiver of the group and was a two-way all-star multiple times, so he gets my vote. As my runner-up, Grant and Marquand were the receding leaders for the club when they each played, Funston was a key underrated cog in the dynasty years, and McCance’s 7 Cup appearances in 8 years will not be duplicated, but Jeff Nicklin earns my back-up spot for his play on the field (4 straight all-star nods) and his sacrifice off it. His bio says it all.

Bud Grant beat out Cal Murphy to be the all-time head coach. Murphy was voted in as GM.

NOTE: There will be 1 winner, but choose 2 players and the second place finisher will go into the run-off for the "5th receiver" position. NOTE #2: Some of these players careers pre-dated the keeping of stats, so please read the attached personal bios of each as well. Aside from Neill; Armstrong, all are Blue Bomber Hall of Fame members. Here are the bios: Stats will be broken down into receptions-yards-average-longest-TDs for the career, with the best single season total for each in parentheses with the corresponding year following the career numbers. CFL all-star nominations not awarded until 1962. Neill Armstrong – 44 gp in 3 seasons (1951, 53, 54), 122-2108-17.3-100-19 (56-1024-18.3-100-10 all in 1951), 2 time divisional all-star (1951, 53), led league in receiving yards in 1951, 1 Grey Cup appearance (1953), Wikipedia bio is limited, later would coach the Edmonton Eskimos Farrell Funston – 74 gp in 8 seasons (1959-66), 220-3749-17.0-75-32 (60 rec.-9 TDs both in 1963, 892 yds.-75 long both in 1961, 23.7 avg. in 1959), 2 time divisional all-star (1961, 63), 4 Grey Cup appearances (1959, 61, 62, 65), 3 time Grey Cup champion (1959, 61, 62), team nominee Most Outstanding Player (1963) Bio: https://www.bluebombers.com/2017/04/17/farrell-funston/ Bud Grant – 64 gp in 4 seasons (1953-56), 216-3200-14.8-62-13 (68 rec. in 1953, 970 yds.-15.4 avg. both in 1956, 62 long in 1954 and 1955, 5 TDs in 1953 and 1954), 3 time divisional all-star (1953, 54, 56), led league in receiving yards in 1953, 1 Grey Cup appearance (1953), CFL Hall of Fame (builder) Bio: https://www.bluebombers.com/2017/04/10/bud-grant/ Bud Korchak – 82 gp in 6 seasons (1949-54), 94-1572-16.7-xx-14 (34 rec.-7 TDs both in 1951, 551 yds. in 1952, 22.6 avg. in 1950), 3 time divisional all-star (1951 – 2nd team, 52, 53), 2 Grey Cup appearances (1950 ,53) Bio: https://www.bluebombers.com/2017/04/18/bud-korchak/ Bud Marquardt – 54 gp in 7 seasons (1935-41), no receiving stats available, 3 time divisional all-star (1937, 39, 40), 5 Grey Cup appearances (1935, 37-39, 41), 3 time Grey Cup champion (1935, 39 ,41) Bio: https://www.bluebombers.com/2017/04/10/bud-marquardt/ Ches McCance – 40 gp in 8 seasons (1937-43, 45), no receiving stats available, 2 time divisional all-star (1940, 41), 7 Grey Cup appearances (1937-39, 41-43, 45), 2 time Grey Cup champion (1939 ,41), CFL Hall of Fame Bio: https://www.bluebombers.com/2017/04/10/ches-mccance/ Jeff Nicklin – 54 gp in 7 seasons (1934-40), no receiving stats available, 4 time divisional all-star (1937-40), 4 Grey Cup appearances (1935, 37-39), 2 time Grey Cup champion (1935, 39) Bio: https://www.bluebombers.com/2016/11/11/lest-we-forget-the-jeff-nicklin-story/ Ernie Pitts – 194 gp in 13 seasons (1957-69), (NOTE –switched to defensive back in 1965, receiving numbers are from 1957-64, 66), 337-5525-16.4-107-54 (68 rec.-1126 yds.-16 TDs all in 1959, 21.2 avg.-107 long both in 1958), 6 time divisional all-star (1957, 59, 60, 65, 66, 68), led CFL in receiving yards in 1959, 6 Grey Cup appearances (1957-59, 61, 62, 65), 4 time Grey Cup champion (1958, 59, 61, 62) Bio: https://www.bluebombers.com/2017/04/25/ernie-pitts/

Laine had 5 goals and 7 assists in last year's playoffs. You are thinking of Ehlers, who still has never scored a playoff goal.

Hate meter is on high today - https://www.tsn.ca/tiger-wins-the-masters-for-15th-major-title-1.1290580 https://www.tsn.ca/americans-survive-finland-in-shootout-to-win-gold-after-controversial-ot-1.1290626 A Blues win tonight and I just may break every radio and TV in my house just to tune out the annoying analysis of it all.

I would have ranked Pitts as a strong contender for one of the top 3 wide receiver/alternate spots.

The Bombers never had a tight end earn a divisional or CFL all-star nod from 1968 to 1980 when the league tracked that position, and Paul Marlkle had only 900 career receiving yards and 80 catches in his 3 seasons with the Bombers from 1970-72. Don’t think he makes the cut when stacked up against the Tony Gabriel’s of that era. But I will say that the “end” position of the 1930’s-1960’s that was the pre-cursor to the tight end position did produce some talent (Pitts and Grant should rightfully be placed there instead of wide receiver, along with Jeff Nicklin, Neill Armstrong, and Bud Marquand). So I will acquiesce and add an “end/tight end” category as well, with one starter and a second choice who can compete in the generic “5th receiver” spot. Our offence will now have 14 men on the field (sounds like a ‘Rider game). If you feel Markle deserves to be among the candidates, tell me which slotback to remove, since the tight end of the 1970’s was closer to a pass catching slotback of the 1980’s than a run blocking end of the 1950’s.

We had season tickets on he east side and bought 2 more in the east temp seats. My dad and I used the good seats in the first half, and traded off with my brother and his friend for the second. The wind came right through the back of the bleachers and feet were exposed to the elements, the second half was a miserable experience by the end of it.

Bios and "one man's take" will be out for next week, for now just putting out a starting list to generate discussion and see if I missed anyone. But I can say Rick House was the slot opposite Poplawski, and our top Canadian 3 times and tops in the league once. Wilcox was our go-to slot in the 90's and a 4 time Most Outstanding Canadian on the team (winning the league wide award once and being runner-up another time), and he also put up the second or 3rd best single receiving year in Bomber history (behind Stegall's 2002 and James Murphy's 1986 year respectively). Edwards was known as "Baby Milt" and quietly had some of the highest career numbers a Bomber has ever put up. For wide receivers, James Murphy was the greatest receiver we ever had and the guy who held every club record before Milt came along. Bud Grant led the league 3 times in receiving before switching to head coach in the 1950's. Pitts and Nielsen were 1960's and early 70's stars with multiple all-star nods and team awards. Holmes was the leader of the receiving corps in the Brock era. Boyd played second fiddle to Murphy in the mid-80's, and Gordon was the understudy to Milt in 2000-01 before Bruce came in.

My initial take is definitely Stegall and Poplawski are locks at slotback, the third spot is an interesting battle between Edwards, House, and Wilcox. Diving into their stats may help with the ultimate choice. Murphy is locked in a one wide receiver spot, and some interesting candidates for the other position and the #3 runner-up. Pitts and Nielsen may pull ahead of a crowded second tier that includes Boyd, Gordon, Holmes, and Grant (factoring in their respective era-based successes). Older players will have less flashy numbers due to changes in the style of the passing game, so remind your self to consider their success against others of that same era. If I'm lucky I can get the bios done by the end of the weekend, but don't hold me to it. I'll do my best.

Leo Lewis and Charles Roberts are deservedly running away (no pun intended) with the poll, so it is time to move on to the receiving corps. I will split up the candidates into slotback and wide receiver categories, but as some were referred to as wingbacks (which morphed in to the slotback position) and flankers (which as best as I can tell was the original wide receiver position), I may inadvertently have put a receiver in the wrong category, so please alert me to any errors. Also, the CFL listed every all-star as a wide receiver (even Stegall, a career slotback), so my slotback list is pretty much from my memory, and wide receiver is my default where I wasn't sure. Regarding the list - to keep the candidate list from spinning out of control, I was going to limit the number of candidates in each category to 10. In fact, I came up with 9 slotbacks and 12 wide receivers, and chose not to include a further 7 receivers (all wideouts) due to the constraints of the list. I will tell you who I have omitted, and why (in my rationale anyway), so if you feel that one of the receivers on the omitted list (or someone else I have not mentioned at all) deserves to be on the final list, tell me, BUT tell me also who they should replace, because I am not making the candidates' pool bigger. And singular big moments do not equate to an all-time career, so Alfred Jackson and his 307 yard receiving game do not warrant inclusion on the candidate list My basis for initial inclusion was any receiver who is in the club's hall of fame, or had at least one CFL all-star nod in their career. I have left off a few receivers who did win the club's rookie of the year award - in those cases I felt their one good season was not enough to establish them as an all-time great. I hope no one will begrudge me leaving the likes of Mitch Running and Eric Guliford off the list because of that. So the ones I left off the list despite meeting the baseline criteria in some instances are: Derick Armstrong - only 2 seasons here, only one 1000+ season, and an acrimonious departure David Williams - chemistry with Dunigan, but only one decent year here, and did a lot more with the BC Lions, so not enough career mileage to warrant a nom Geroy Simon - accomplishments with other teams do not factor in, so his Hall of Fame career with BC is a moot point. He only topped 700 yards once in his 2 seasons here. Chris Matthews - rookie of the year, but his 1 & 1/3 seasons in Winnipeg were too brief compared to other candidates. NFL success not a factor to consider Albert Johnson III - his receiving numbers were pretty pedestrian and his time here limited, he was more of a return specialist (which already earned him a spot on the all-time team) Eugene Goodlow - hard to keep him off this list, but his phenomenal 1981 year (100 catches - first ever to do that, and 1494 yards with 15 TDs is brilliant) on its own does not get him into the conversation of all-time great based on lack of longevity. He basically had only that one year of stats (injured 5 games into the next season, had he finished out that year on the pace he was at, I probably would have added him to the list). Arland Bruce III - "Runako Reth" only had one 1000+ yard season and 2 years in Bomber colours, and his achievements elsewhere do not count. NOW, BEFORE YOU TELL ME STEGALL AND POPLAWSKI ARE WINNING THIS, SO DON'T BOTHER DEBATING - YOU WILL PICK THREE FROM EACH GROUP. With the advent of the 5 receiver set, I will take the top 2 slotbacks and top 2 wide receivers and place them on the team. The #3 choice at each position will go head-to-head in a subsequent run-off vote to be placed in the "5th receiver" spot. The slotbacks: Gerald Alphin, Terrance Edwards, Rick House, Gord Paterson, Joe Poplawski, Tom Scott, Milt Stegall, Jim Thorpe, Gerald Wilcox The wide receivers: Darvin Adams, Jeff Boyd, Clarence Denmark, Farrell Funston, Robert Gordon, Bud Grant, Mike Holmes, Bob LaRose, James Murphy, Ken Nielson, Ernie Pitts, Perry Tuttle

Merci beaucoup! Gave my blood pressure a workout for sure coming up with some of these. Great fun venting my spleen.

I know it. I would be content to see Toronto get a second NHL franchise so that "average" fans could actually cheer on a home team in person, rather than watching on TV while corporate meetings go on in the 200 level. The only problem is we'd have to hear how much better T.O. is than everyone else because we can support 2 teams, and my hate would rise even more. It's a vicious cycle. This is why you can't have nice things to play with, Hogtown!

Very kind of you. I tend to run on a bit. Thanks for your patient reading.

And now, part 2: Things that may tick me off, depending on the day - Teams and Fan bases 1.0 - NY Yankees - the original mercenary team that tried to destroy a sport by outbidding everyone else and buying championships. They rate higher than the Miami Heat for doing the same things simply because their shenanigans were part of the reason the Expos are no more. 1.0 - Buffalo fans - I get it, 4 Super Bowl losses and the Brett Hull crease violation goal all suck. That misery doesn't make you special or anything. We all get our hearts torn out by sports. It's been 20 years, time to let it go (and the Hull goal was actually legit according to the rule, since he was the puck carrier). 1.0 - Winnipeg Jets/fans - Yes I love the Jets. But it's like family. You love them more than anything, but they drive you nuts at times and you want to kill them. Right now, the love-in is still super strong, with us still basking in the simple joy of having them back. There team is young, exciting, and on the rise. And for the most part, we have a great, loud, knowledgeable fan base. This hate score is pretty much based on the last 2 months. Yes, Troy Westwood, we get it, you think the team is in serious trouble, and all of us are just in denial. And for all those chicken littles, yes I get your take - you are no coach but you can tell that Maurice sucks, with his 99 point all star coach season and all, and he won't break up his two best players who only had 175 points playing together this year. But hey, I haven't heard that take in over 3 hours, please post or call in and tell me again the 89th variation of your opinion. I go back to Blake Wheeler last year when he tried to inject some reality into an overexcited fan base, I will paraphrase his quote for this year's angst-ridden mob: "We all need to pump the f***ing brakes, we haven't won lost anything yet" Coaches 1.0 - John Tortarella - better than he used to be, but even if you hate the media that much (even when you were one of them), could you at least fake it, given all the money you are being paid? Grumpy old man at 40 years old. Imagine if you had real problems. 1.0 - Bobby Knight - an über-jerk who was beyond dismissive of the media. the original "I'm the smartest guy in the room, just ask me". I imagine an alternate universe where the kid at the free throw line who had to deal with Knight throwing a chair at him walks over and decks Knight, knocking him on his stupid rear end. and dropping his ego a few thousand points in the process. 1.0 - Bill Belichick - Again, for a guy with no real problems, you sure are sour. If you are such a genius, why can't you at least pretend to be interested in attending a press conference, or at least being respectful and civil to the journalists? Speaking of the media... 1.0 - beat reporters who ask inane questions, or recite a one minute agenda-driven narrative in the guise of a question just to get an agreement from the coach or player as a "quote" from said person for their next article. Don't tell them how they feel, just ask and let them tell you themselves 2.0 (anger rising!) - athletes who don't answer questions and get into a p*ssing match with the reporter. If you don't like the public side of being a pro, then go play in beer league. But if you want your $30 million contract, then answering questions for the media and fans is part of the job. Don' t be a whiny baby. Martina Navratilova was once asked by a male reporter if she was still a lesbian. She responded by asking him back "Are you still the alternative?" If she can handle the most insensitive question ever asked with that kind of grace, then you all can do at least half as well as her and just politely answer as best you can when the reporter asks how you feel after a tough loss. The "I don't think much about this, but whenever I'm reminded of this I get mad" category 1.5 John McEnroe - I thought his superbrat phase was just limited to his playing days, but he's still a major jerk as a commentator and as a guy in general. It's like he is permanently sucking on a lemon while undergoing a root canal. If you hate people that much, get off TV, stop dragging me down into your misery ,and go be a hermit like Yoda. 1.5 - Kobe Bryant - For wrecking a team with his "me first" attitude, and for getting away with it for so long. And for paying off a sex assault victim to keep himself out of jail. 1.5 - sports agents who negotiate (and self-promote) in front of the camera more than in private. They typically are looking out for their own interests more than their clients, and annoy GMs and fan bases to no end in the process. 1.5 - Steve Fehr - Ok, he's just doing his job as a player rep, but he has left a lot of scorched earth behind during his time as head of the MLBPA. Now he's brought his act to hockey. Prepare for a two-season lockout. 1.5 - Marc Crawford - already disliked him as the Avs head coach when I cheered for the Red Wings. Then.....Nagano. Czech Republic. Shootout. Gretzky stapled to the bench. Dude should be banned from coaching at any level in this or any other lifetime for that level of idiocy. 2.0 - Leafs fans - for being corporate suits and not regular Joes at the games. For being irrelevant for 50 years yet still droning on about how great the team and your "nation" is. For your incessant whining about "93 and your faux God Gilmour and the missed high stick. 2.0 - Boston Bruins - for Tim Thomas and his smug, ultra conservative smirk and politics, for dirty rat Brad Marchand, for being from Boston 2.0 - Serena Williams - for winning more than anyone else, and still being a sore loser, then playing the race and gender cards instead of owning her temper 2.0 Roger Clemens - in the same alternate universe where the kid charges Bobby Knight, Mike Piazza charges the mound when Clemens throws a bat at him and lays waste to him like Rocky on a side of beef. 2.0 - "U.S.A., U.S.A." - it takes a special kind of arrogance to turn your country's name into a sports chant. It says something that the phrase "Ugly American" is commonplace but "ugly Spaniard" or "Ugly Norwegian" or "Ugly [insert any other country in the world]" doesn't exist, no? 2.0 - Don King - behind the smirking face and used car salesman buffoonery of this human troll doll lies a man who actually killed another guy, and should be doing multiple life sentences for all sorts of crimes. Hate lowered since he (like boxing) has fallen off the map The "Hope I don't have sharp objects on me if you want to debate the following" group 3.0 - Boston Red Sox - for trading Babe Ruth, for employing Ty Cobb - the all-time dirtiest player ever, for decrying the Yankees and their mercenary style of buying championships, and then becoming exactly that themselves, for Pedro Martinez throwing a 72 year old man to the ground, and beaking of about it afterwards (in my alternate universe the basketball kid jumps out of the stands to hold him down while Piazza lays waste to him with a broken baseball bat like DeNiro in "The Untouchables") 3.0 - O.J. Simpson - if I really need to say why, then welcome back to earth after your alien abduction 25 years ago. Only the karmic payback of his overly long robbery sentence keeps this number down. 4.0 - Edmonton Oilers - for breaking the Jets hearts forever in the '80's. For their bandwagon fans today who wear orange and blue to Jets' games and declare their fandom, but couldn't identify anyone on the team between the end of the Messier and the start of the McDavid years (not even Captain Canada Ryan Smyth) if asked, or who will proclaim that if McDavid isn't the best player in hockey history, he for sure is the best Oiler ever. For being gifted the top draft choice year after year and still being incapable of building a competitive AHL team, and then trading away all that talent to ensure they get another first overall draft pick. 4.0 - MLB players and owners - "Sports is heartbreak, and you are owed nothing". So was the argument someone had with me once when I said I was owed a championship season. Normally, I could agree with this sentiment, but in this case the championship I was owed was the 1994 Expos. It's one thing to lose a game 7, or blow a 4th quarter lead, or make a crucial error in the 9th inning. That is the normal heartbreak of sports. But to lose a championship because millionaires and multi-millionaires couldn't figure out how to split a billion dollar pie and quit on the fans paying the freight in the one year your favourite team finally is poised to win it all? That sucks. That the same team then gets dismantled and sold off to the highest bidders sucks more. That those same players go on to win with those other big market teams is just painful. That your team then folds due to the money grubbing politics of the sport is soul-crushing. To then wipe that season and any memory of that team from the collective memory banks of the league is just plain cruel. It took me 22 years and the Blue Jays recent run for me to actually watch a complete baseball game from start to finish again, so deep did this one cut. 4.0 - Matt Cooke - a half point of hate for every player's career he ended and every suspension he never got that he should have for his flying elbows and head shots. You don't want to know what level of payback occurs in my alternate universe. 4.5 - Lance Armstrong - not that he cheated (so many others did), not that he lied about it to cover his tracks (human nature when you want to keep everything you got as a result of your cheating - anyone would lie), but he used his money, power and influence to slander, sue and destroy the lives of so many who questioned him in an effort to cover it up. Way beyond what anyone else ever did to hide a lie. And then to go on the Oprah forgiveness tour and say "yup, I was lying all these years. Hey, sorry about that." You know, a simple "F*** you, Lance" in response just doesn't quite cut it. 5.0 - New England Patriots - Victor Kiam's "Classic b*tch" misogyny over a locker room incident. The "tuck rule" and the fraudulent Super Bowl appearance because of it. Spygate and the fraudulent Super Bowl win (maybe 3 wins) because of it. Belicheat and his sour looks. Brady's phony all-American charm (just ask his pregnant girlfriend who he stepped out on with Gisele). Being handed a Super Bowl when Atlanta forgot how to run out the clock up by 25. Being handed a Super Bowl when Seattle forgot how to run, period. Aaron Hernandez. Caveman Gronk. For being so damn good and giving an insufferable fan base a reason to be even more insufferable. Robert Kraft and his massage parlour. Deflategate. But most of all, getting caught cheating time and again and playing the victim card each time. Woe is you indeed. Jackasses. 5.0 - Ray Lewis - May have committed a murder. Probably aided and abetted a murder. Definitely helped cover up a murder, but his conviction for obstruction seems hollow. And yet he still got to play in 2 Super Bowls after that, and is still employed as a TV talking head, talking about his faith and preaching tolerance and goodness and belief in the Lord. Let's hope the Lord has a few things to say in response come Judgement Day when Ray goes to meet his maker. 5.0 - NFL owners - for turning a blind eye to concussions that are killing players. For turning a blind eye to social justice and siding with Donald Trump in colluding and blackballing Coilin Kaepernick. 5.0 - Boston fans - ESPN writer and Boston native Bill Siimons once wrote about tortured fan bases and how irritating it was when those fans thought it made them special. So take what I said about Buffalo fans and multiply by about 1 million for Boston fans. You’d think the Curse of the Bambino was the Holocaust the way Red Sox fans carried on. “No team ever suffered heartbreak like the Bosox. Losing game 7 in ‘75 after the greatest game ever ending with Carlton Fisk’s homer. Bucky f***ing Dent and those stupid Yankees. Aaron Boone. Bill Buckner and the most devastating loss a team has ever suffered. That game was ours!!!!”. Now add the groaning of Celtic fans and their conspiracies about the refs handing bad calls to the Lakers or those cheap shot artists the Pistons in the’80’s and 90’s. Bruins fans and the phantom “too many men - last call in the Forum always goes to the Habs” B. S. Patriots fans and their self-righteous “We’ve persevered in spite of Goodell trying to take us down” And how have these poor, hard-done by fans survived such atrocities? With 6 Bruins titles, 3 since 1970. 4 Red Sox titles since 2004. 6 Patriots rings since 2002. 17 Celtic banners including 8 in a row and 6 since 1974. 12 championships for the city since the turn of the century. And as insufferable as they were as sore losers, they are twice as nauseating as sore winners. I don’t like them. 5.0 - Blue Bombers/fans - The opposite of love is not hate. They are simply opposite ends of the spectrum of the same emotion (passion). No, the opposite of love (or hate) is indifference. And I am far from indifferent about the Bombers. So along with a lot of love comes a big dose of hate for the things about this team and it’s fans that irk me. Earl Lunsford’s failures. Brock dissing everything in the city, save for the zoo. Laying an egg against the Argos in 1987. 68-7 loss to Edmonton because they forgot to pack good shoes. Reinbold and his exorcisms. West-wide and the mail-it-in job in 2001. Unfinished Business x 18. Joe Mack. Joe Mack. Joe Mack. 52-0. Mike Kelly and your mom’s basement. Being asked in 2014 if I was going to renew my season tickets for the 33rd straight year and saying yes, “but I’m starting to feel like a sucker”. The shrug from the Bomber rep that followed that comment. 22 year drought. 29 year drought. This is not an exhaustive list. But even more hate for those fans who throw out the constant negativity, even during (especially during) the high points. Who always love the back-up QB more. Who want every coach fired after year one. Heck, after every loss (I have a self-imposed 48 hour ban after a home loss on visiting this board so I can tune out the “sky-is-falling” crowd). For bashing other fan bases and the blindly displaying the exact same behaviour here. For the buffoonery of snowball fights, tent tear downs, beer can throwing, scraps with police in the stands, and attacking players on the field, all of which gives a black eye to the entire fan base. But most of all, I hate that I care so much, and that I keep coming back for more. But hate and love are the same emotion, so I look forward to loving again. 6.0 - Barry Bonds - SI writer Rick Reilly once made a list of the 5 biggest jerks in sports he ever met. Bonds was in 3 of his top 4 positions. Bob Costas said before his first encounter “I’d heard the stories, and wanted to give him a fair shake. So I was prepared to try and like him more than most said I would. I left that first encounter disliking him even more than the worst anyone had ever told me about.” The most arrogant, selfish, fat-headed (literally), me-first cheater punk to ever play the game. I am convinced he is now being kept out of the Hall of Fame as much for being a total d*ck to the media, whose votes he now needs, as for any steroid usage, and the schaudenfraude in me smiles at that thought. Watch how little his own teammates celebrated with him when he broke the home run records. They hated him. And he preferred the spotlight to himself anyway, so he was happy not to share the stage. And he let a friend rot in prison rather than own up to his obvious cheating. 7.0 - The myth of Tiger Woods - I don’t have a problem with Woods himself (his affairs are probably to closest to being a human as Mr. Robot has ever gotten) as much as I do with the fawning media coverage of him. If I had been taken away from a real life at age 2 and taught nothing other than how to golf, I bet I’d be world class too. And this is not hubris. Unlike basketball, where being 5’10” and white is a genetic disadvantage no matter how hard I practice, golf is an Everyman sport. Don’t believe me? Look at a photo of that physical specimen John Daly and remind yourself he had 2 major titles. But the media wanted a messiah and turned Woods into their God, lapping up his phony humility and making him bigger than he was (not just the best in the game, not just the best ever, but the greatest, most focussed, mentally tough, MOST everything guy on the planet), and shoved it down our throats. Then the PGA got in on the act, “Tiger-proofing” courses by making them longer and actually making things easier for him by eliminating half the field who couldn’t hit as far as him but could keep up on the greens. Then they tore him down - hard. And revelled in his collapse without once acknowledging their own hypocrisy in creating the false idol. Now they are desperate to have him climb the mountain again, and proclaim that he’s back every week when it is just wishful thinking. Here’s a fun game. Get a stopwatch on a golf tournament and see what percentage of air time goes to Tiger vs. The Field. Bet it’s close to 50% for the week. Then see if he’s better than a 42nd place finish, which we’ll hear more about than the guy who finished 2nd. There’s a world of great golfers out there, maybe cover them too. I feel better. I’m going to go take my Xanax now.